The Red Strings of Fate: Chapter 2
by Magpyei
Summary: When a young girl (literally) falls into a magical world, she finds that the war fought there not long before was just as painful as the war that rages inside of her. With no memory of her past or that she has ever possessed magical powers, her only hope to survive in this unfamiliar place lies at at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and with some odd new friends.


The Red Strings of Fate

The wide gravel path leading to the striking castle was littered with fall leaves long since fallen from the grand old trees lining either side. The sound of the leaves crunching under foot was Andriel's only company as she made her way towards Hogwarts School. The raspy grey haired conductor had mentioned something about carriages as she stepped on to the platform after the long ride through the country. Finding no carriages in sight, Andriel merely shrugged her shoulders and began walking up the leaf covered path alone. She didn't mind walking, it was a beautiful sunny day and she appreciated the solitude.

Whatever happened to her, whatever was going to happen to her, she didn't have much choice but to move forward and find some answers at this magic school. The only hope she carried with her was that the same people that made the decision to send her to Hogwarts for the time being could find out what happened to her. If they could find someone who knew her, maybe even a family member, she would at least be able to struggle through this with someone else by her side.

Andriel's memories were like Swiss cheese. She could remember that pink was her favorite color, but she couldn't remember why. Her favorite flavor of ice cream was strawberry, but she couldn't recall eating it when she was little. She couldn't even remember being little really. She knew that she had to have grown up; she wasn't born 18 years old. But her childhood memories evaded her. Any memories of any type of family or companions evaded her.

Right now, she had nothing. Even the clothes on her back were given to her by a woman from something called the Ministry of Magic. She carried no luggage and wandered what she was supposed to do when she was in need of another pair of clothes. Before she could continue her analysis of her hopeless situation, she spotted a figure near the gate at the end of the path. Standing in front of one of the stone pillars that stood on either side of the steel-framed gate was the unmistakable outline of a woman.

As Andriel closed the distance between herself and the gate, she was taken pleasantly by surprise. The woman in front of her sported brown close toed boots with a slight heel, a long sensible green dress, and on top of her head, a black pointed hat. Even in her dreary state, Andriel felt a slight pang of amusement at the sight of an actually witch wearing such a hat. Underneath the brim of her hat, the woman's kind eyes met hers from behind a pair of glasses perched on the end of her nose. The mysterious woman was not elderly, but the deep wrinkles surrounding her mouth and eyes told Andy she was no younger than fifty.

"Hello Ms. La Caz," she said in a kind tone, "welcome to Hogwarts. I am professor McGonagall, the headmaster. "

Even in the company of this kind woman, Andriel couldn't bring herself to smile, even out of politeness. The woman found no offense in this, or at least didn't let it show. Without waiting for a response, Professor McGonagall turned and made her way toward the looming gate. With an almost unnoticeable wave of her wrist, the metal gates creaked open and she strode through them without hesitation. This was the first display of magic Andriel had seen firsthand, but she didn't allow herself to fully appreciate this, convincing herself that the gate was probably motion activated.

Making their way through the grounds was an emotional rollercoaster. The grounds were nothing but rolling green hills covered in beautiful lush green grass. Small walking paths snaked their way through the hills, each leading to a different place. Grand trees, some over sixty feet tall, scattered the grounds and interrupted the beautiful grass with massive roots that stretched as far as twenty feet from the tree base. The most beautiful sight of all lay on the east side of the castle. A massive lake, interrupted by only a solitary island in the middle, lay glistening in the afternoon light. It was so large, if Andriel didn't know any better she would have thought it was the ocean.

Within these beautiful sights lay others that were sad and almost scary. In places where trees had clearly stood, gaping holes of disturbed ground and splinters laid in their place. Patches of lush grass has since been blackened by what was most likely fire, and pieces of stone, some as large as houses, littered the rolling hills. These sights caused Andriel to take a second look at the grand castle that they were nearing. It had obviously undergone recent repair, but it was not completely restored. Entire wings of the castle were missing leaving walls that resemble broken teeth behind. Just like the grass, the castle was scared with scorch marks all along its walls. This sight was less than encouraging to Andriel, but before she could worry herself any more, her thoughts were interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

"You will be staying in the hospital wing for the time being," She said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Saint Mungo's advised you be kept under medical observation for at least twenty four hours, after which you will be moved to the dorms. You will be given a class schedule tomorrow and will be expected to attend all classes set for you."

Being treated like a sick child with no choice in the matter was almost as discouraging as the surrounding battle-esc grounds of the school. Not only would she be held like a sick patient, she would be herded to classes and be expected to play the role of a model student. She couldn't help but feel the heat rise in her face. More than anything she hated being an inconvenience for others, and being a burden of a student was exactly that.

"Stop right there Mr. Battin!" the professor exclaimed causing Andriel to jump.

Exiting the path they had been traveling on, Andriel watch the professor make her way to a group of three boys about the same age as Andriel. Two of the boys stood on the ground, holding small sticks in their hands, while the other stood on the lowest branch of a tall oak tree. The boy's faces reflected pure horror as the professor made her way toward them for a good scolding. Andriel stood in the open space of the path awkwardly and waited for the professor.

"Are you lost?" came a voice from behind Andriel.

She turned to find a boy with a slender frame and white blonde hair giving her a worried look. Dressed in black shoes, slacks, and a button-up shirt, he was actually quite handsome.

"Um..," Andriel muttered looking down at her feet. She hadn't uttered a word since leaving Saint Mungo's and wasn't prepared for casual conversation.

"I just haven't seen you around," he said hurriedly, "so I thought you might be looking for someone."

"Um, I-"

"I'd ask you to please not bother the new student Mr. Malfoy," interrupted Professor McGonagall.

Andriel opened her mouth to refute the statement. He wasn't bothering her, it was Andriel who was too busy wallowing in self pity to hold a conversation.

"Sorry Professor," Malfoy replied before Andriel could say anything.

"Come along Ms. La Caz," said the professor continuing past Malfoy.

Andriel followed behind the professor slightly embarrassed. She paused for a moment and looked back in apology at Malfoy. Returning the look with a half smile and shrug of his shoulders, he raised a hand farewell before turning and walking in the opposite direction back towards the castle.

Staying in the hospital wing was odd. Although there were no other students there, trying to sleep in a giant room with fifty other beds felt uncomfortable almost. Luckily, the beds were separated by privacy curtains, so Andriel didn't have to stare at the emptiness of the room and feel even more alone than she already did. She lay on her back in the metal framed bed, wide awake, staring at the high ceiling. She didn't have any pajamas, so she slept in a hospital gown provided by the nurse; Madam Pomfrey. It wasn't ideal, but she was more than happy to get out of the colorless, unfitting clothes the ministry provided for her. The grey T-shirt and jeans sat on the bedside table next to her. Giving the ugly pieces of cloth a dirty look she turned back to the ceiling. It was so dark she could barely see the grand stone nearly fifty feet above her, but she could make out several cracks in it. Just like the rest of the school, its beauty had been interrupted by some powerful unknown source.

She had that in common with the ceiling. Her memories, once solid and intact, now held gaping holes of nothingness from some unknown source. Although, in her case, there were more cracks than ceiling. She sighed and rolled over on her side to try to get some sleep. Surprisingly, it only took about five minutes before her mind was in yet another world, this one even more surprising than the one her body now slept in.

_She was standing on the edge of the lake at Hogwarts. The sun was just beginning to set, casting beautiful reflections of orange and yellow over the lakes glassy waters. She looked out to the island in the sitting alone at the center of the lake. For some reason, she felt like she needed to get to the island. Some nameless force pulled at her, and she found herself pulling off her clothes. She didn't bother to look for a boat to carry her across the dark waters. She needed to get there, now._

_Removing all except for her bra and panties, she stepped up to the rocky edge of the lake. Diving into the dark water was shocking, not because it was cold, but because it was warm. It was like swimming through a hot tub. Andriel ignored this odd circumstance and focused on the task at hand; getting to the island. With a flawless freestyle stroke, she pushed forward towards the island. With each stroke, she felt the tension in her mind build. _

_She had to get to the island._

_Her strokes became sloppy as exhaustion crept into her muscles. Her tongue felt like sandpaper in her mouth and her chest heaved while her lungs gasped for oxygen. She stopped swimming and began treading water in an attempt to rest her body. She looked forward to the island once more and realized that she was no closer than before. Confused, she turned herself in the water and looked back toward the shore, but saw nothing. The shore was gone. Not even Hogwarts tall castle towers were visible, only water. _

_Her confusion turned to sheer panic as she realized that the island was now the only source of land. She moved to continue swimming towards safety, but found herself mindlessly splashing in the water around her. She had forgotten how to swim. Her arms and legs flailed useless as her head dipped underwater. The heat of the lake made it even harder to maintain breath and she fell further and further from the surface. Her throat constricted and her heart beat rapidly in her ears. All the air in her lungs was slowly pushed out by the agonizing heat and the deafening sound of her heart beat began to slow._

Andriel woke with a start. Sitting bolt upright, she clutched the front of her hospital gown. Cool sweat dripped down her face as the sound of her heavy breathing filled the empty hospital wing. She looked around, slightly embarrassed. It was still dark and the hospital wing was still empty. Mentally kicking herself for getting so worked up over a dream, she closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. She was already wary about trusting this place, this world, and having crude dreams weren't helping the situation. As she finally started to gain some control over her breathing, she heard a noise near the entrance to the hospital.

The unmistakable creak of the large wooden door, followed immediately by the heavy thud of it shutting, came from across the room. Assuming it was just Madam Pomfrey; Andriel ignored it and lay back down, pulling the bed sheets over her head. After listening to the footsteps of the new comer for a few moments, she realized that it wasn't the nurse. Madam Pomfrey's footsteps were very light and quick-paced; as if she was always late for something important. The foreigners foots steps were also light, but almost tentative, as if they were sneaking.

Slowly, careful not to make any sound, Andriel pulled the sheets from her head and raised herself into a sitting position. Attempting to see through the privacy curtain surrounding her was futile, it was too dark. With no way to see the intruder, Andriel relied on sound instead, listening carefully to the movement around her. The careful footsteps made their way across the room and stopped no more than three feet from her. Next came the sound of a drawer sliding open and being rummaged through. The fragile sounds of glass hitting glass drifted through the privacy curtain to Andriel's ears. What person would need, or even be aloud, to rummage through hospital drawers freely in the middle of the night?

Curiosity got the best of her and she found herself slowly pulling her sheets until she was uncovered completely. As she moved to put her feet on the ground, the bed creaked slightly. She froze, wincing at the sound. The rummaging sounds paused for a moment and then proceeded. Swinging her legs the rest of the way around, her bare feet came in contact with the cold stone without a sound. Lifting the rest of her body gently from the mattress, she made her way towards the small opening left in her privacy curtain. With each soundless step she could see more of the stranger. Dressed in a long black trench coat, the perpetrator stood at about the same height as her. The rest of their all black outfit made it difficult to determine if they were a boy or girl, but judging by the slender wrists protruding from the trench sleeves, Andriel assumed the latter.

Before she could move close enough to see their face, the intruder found what they were looking for. Producing an empty glass syringe from the drawer of the small medical cabinet, the foreigner proceeded to roll up their left sleeve. With that, Andriel stopped. No more than two feet from the person in black, the only thing separating them was the thin plastic of the privacy curtain. Even though their intentions were obvious, Andriel still found confusion in the situation. With one swift movement, the stranger inserted the long needle into their arm and slowly pulled back the trigger. Andriel winced as the needle glided smoothly past the girls pale skin. What could she be up to?

Andriel's confusion turned to pure bewilderment as she saw what was being drawn from the veins of this faceless person. In place of the expected gush of deep red blood was something Andriel couldn't even believe she was seeing. The substance filling the syringe was a bright, shimmering, gem-like substance. Although it was red in color, the foreign liquid was almost transparent, as if it had been watered down.

Before she could stop herself, Andriel gasped. Immediately, the intruders head snapped up to reveal the face of a girl her own age. Her auburn hair was braided back away from her face allowing Andriel to see the pure shock in the foreign girl's navy blue eyes. The two froze, eyes locked, both caught in the shock of the others sudden presence. In the instant of distraction, the girl in the black coat lost her grip on the half-full syringe and it tumbled to the floor. Both of their eyes followed it until, with a bloodcurdling crash, the syringe shattered against the floor. Pieces of glass and drops of the ruby liquid flew in every direction. Finally coming to rest, the accident left a mess about one foot in diameter.

Andriel looked back up to the girl in the black coat to apologize, but her panicked eyes remained on the shimmering liquid puddle slowly spreading on the floor. Before Andriel could interject, the blue-eyed girl began looking around frantically. In one quick step she was at the medical cabinet she had removed the syringe from. She opened every drawer, but obviously wasn't finding what she was looking for. Andriel looked back to the spreading puddle on the stone floor. Realizing what the girl was trying to do Andriel's body moved on its own and, in one swift movement, pulled the cover sheet off of her hospital bed and threw it at the source of panic. She wasn't quite sure why the broken syringe was cause for so much trouble, but she wasn't about to stand by and watch this girl panic.

With reflexes like Andriel had never seen, the girl grabbed the bed sheet out of the air and threw it over the spreading puddle of ruby liquid. She then scrubbed at the soiled stones feverishly until all but the faintest signs of blood remained. Andriel thought she could smell soap, but she told herself it wasn't true. Once satisfied that the floor was clean enough, the girl pointed a long stick at the blood soaked sheets and whispered under her breath. Still frozen in place, Andriel watched as the sheets burst into flame without warning. Andriel suppressed a scream as the sheet was reduced to nothing but ash by the small fire which remained contained in mid air. As the fire burned away, the remaining ashes followed the point of the blue eyed girls stick and flew out the out the nearest window.

"Repairo," the girl muttered, pointing her stick at the shattered syringe on the floor. Each tiny piece of glass shuttered slightly and then began moving back toward the place where it had shattered. Before her very eyes, the once shattered syringe became whole again, each piece fell exactly into place leaving nothing but smooth flawless glass. Floating up from the ground, the newly repaired syringe landed gently in the pale hand of the blue eyed girl.

With that, the blue eyed girl's attention finally turned to the dumbfounded witness. Although Andriel's eyes looked directly back into the girl's, she didn't see her at all. Lost in a haze of confusion at the sights she just saw, Andriel mouth hung agape. What had she just seen? How were these things possible? The temperature in the room felt as if had dropped 30 degrees, and her body began wracking itself with fearful tremors. Without skipping a beat, the girl in black grabbed Andriel by the bicep and began to drag Andriel as she ran towards the hospital door. Andriel put forth no resistance; she was numb and lost in her own mind.

Bursting forth from the hospital wing, Andriel was pulled down the enormous, dark corridors. Jumbled picture frames passed in a blur as the two rushed passed the stone walls. The leader of the pair ran at a quick steady pace, making turns without hesitation, dragging the dazed and confused Andriel behind her. Although Andriel passed through several corridors on her way to the hospital wing, she never fathomed how truly massive this school was. Turn after turn, Andriel became more and more convinced it was never ending. Arriving at a flight of tall stone steps, the pair ascended without pause, causing Andriel to nearly fall on her face. The stairs were white marble and several flights could be seen crisscrossing over head. In what felt like an instant, they arrived at another pair of stone steps spiraling upward to another level. They were no longer in the tall tower that held the crisscrossing stairs, they were in a room. Regaining her senses for a moment, Andriel realized she was in a dorm room. Beds sat at intervals around the circular room, each holding a silent, motionless figure undisturbed by the two entering the room. Before Andriel could take in the rest of the dorm, the girl in black threw her into bathroom at the other side of the room. Tossing in a purple bundle of clothe, the girl in black proceeded to slam the door without a word.

Shaken and exhausted by the treacherous run to the dorm, Andriel stood in the all white bathroom trembling like a scared child. Looking over to the purple bundle lying on the tile floor, Andriel realized that it was a pair of silk pajamas. Urgent mumbled voices reached Andriel's ears through the wooden bathroom door causing her foggy awareness to break. She didn't know what was going on and she was scared. Her fear wasn't derived from the girl in black though, rather the things that she did. It was magic, real magic. There was no other explanation. The unbelievable things the doctors told her at Saint Mungo's were true. The girl in black was a witch; she could produce fire out of thin air and repair a shattered syringe to its once flawless state. Andriel's body began to tremble again as the scene in the hospital wing replayed in her head.

Still, she didn't feel threatened by the girl in black. Andriel couldn't help but feel like she was trying to protect her. The ruby liquid pulled from the girls veins was scary enough, but the panicked look on her face as it spread on the hospital floor was terrifying. Andriel's situation seemed pretty bleak and it seemed like the only thing to do was trust this mysterious blue-eyed girl that pulled her from what could have been a dangerous situation.

Andriel shook her head back and forth like a wet dog in an attempt to clear her thoughts. Forcing her limbs into motion, Andriel pulled off the ugly hospital gown and tossed it in a heap on the bathroom counter. Glancing at her naked body in the mirror for a moment, she realized how much weight she had lost in the last few days. Seeing her bony hips and knobby knees made her feel pretty stupid for refusing to eat at Saint Mungo's. No wonder she was shivering all the time. The silky purple pajamas felt heavenly against her skin. She pulled on the loose waist pants and buttoned the long sleeved top quickly, covering her skeleton of a body. Calm and clothed, she turned back to the wooden door and moved to exit the bathroom. Giving the door a slight push, she realized it had been blocked.

"E-excuse m-me…" she managed, "I'm all ch-changed. C-can I c-come out n-now?"

Although she felt pathetic for stuttering like a freezing pup, she was glad she managed to speak at all. After what sounded like the scrapping of a chair on the floor, the door opened slowly. The girl in black stood before her looking slightly dishelved taking in Andriel with her deep blue eyes.

A look of pity washed over the girls face. "What's your name?" the girl in black asked.

"Andriel La Caz," she replied without stuttering.

The blue-eyed girl heaved a heavy sigh. "Well, Andriel, my name is Danica Josephine Snape. I'm not going to hurt you, quite the opposite, actually. I need to keep you safe and the means you have to stay here with me, okay?" she asked gently. She was protecting her after all.

Andriel nodded her head. "Dan-Da-Danic-" she attempted, stuttering again.

"Since we're going to be friends, you can call me Dani, alright?" the girl interrupted form the doorway.

Andriel nodded again. Her evaluation of this girl was correct. She was only trying to protect her from whatever harm the ruby blood could have caused her. Coming to this conclusion, Andriel figured this was as good of time as any to ask.

"Dani, are you sick?" Andriel asked quivering slightly. She didn't know how else to put it or what else it could have been that would call for such an act.

Dani stared back apologetically, obviously realizing what Andriel was talking about. Dani shook her head causing several strands of her braided amber hair to come loose.

"I'm not sick, but I am a little….different."Dan responded, "I promise I'll tell you everything eventually, but right now, we need to go to sleep because I would like for you to attend my classes with me tomorrow. And, unfortunately, only my bed is available, so we'll have to share."

Dani's response didn't inspire much confidence and it certainly didn't make Andriel any less fearful. But the promise of answers caught her attention. Although they weren't the answers that she had been looking for ever since arriving in the strange place, they were answers nonetheless. And Andy felt much more comfortable putting her trust in this kind girl than a bunch of stuffy synthetic doctors.

Placing a hand gently on her back, Dani led Andriel to the only empty bed in the room. The bed was only a twin, but it looked a lot comfier than the beds in the hospital wing, even if it had to be shared. Andriel's observation was confirmed as she took her place on the far right side of the bed. Closing her eyes, she felt like she could melt in the soft, warm comfort of the sponge-like mattress and fluffy white pillows. Opening her eyes again she saw that Dani had just finished changing into her own silky PJ's. Crawling in beside her, Dani positioned herself closely but didn't touch Andriel.

"Since we're going to be friends," Andriel said, mirroring Dani's earlier statement, "you can call me Andy." She wasn't sure if this meant anything to the girl. Hopefully, this would show her blind trust in a small way.

"Goodnight, Andy," Dani said. Although she couldn't see her, Andy could tell she had a smile on her face.

"Goodnight, Dani," Andy replied. With that, Andriel drifted off in to a much needed sleep absent of dreams.

Harry Potter Fan Fiction


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